SOUTHBURY - The world famous dance company Pilobolus Dance Theater will be performing at Pomperaug High School on Friday and Saturday, February 19-20. Both performances will begin at 7 pm.tickets@afterschoolartsprogram.org.afterschoolartsprogram.org (click on Events, then ASAP Presents Pilobolus). Ticket and additional information is also available by contacting the ASAP office at 860-868-0740.This story has been updated to reflect the correct start time for the performances.

The special event, being presented by the After School Art Program (ASAP), will feature not only the entire company of seven dancers but also students and community members in ASAP's Interdistrict and Community Dance Projects which for the first time this year took place in both Southbury in Newtown.

Known for an electrifying mix of humor, intelligence, physical invention, and raw athleticism, Pilobolus is a Connecticut treasure, recognized recently by the Dance Heritage Coalition as "irreplaceable" to the nation. The live events will also welcome the selectmen, superintendents and principals of schools in Newtown and Region 15 (Southbury-Middlebury) to the stage as part of a performance guaranteed to inspire awe and wonder. Newtown Superintendent of Schols Joseph V. Eradi Jr and First Selectman Pat Llodra have reportedly agreed to participate in the performances.

A snow date has been selected for Sunday, February 21.

This is the first year that ASAP's collaboration with Pilobolus has resulted in programs for children and adults in Newtown and Southbury. ASAP has long been dedicated, however, to providing world-class artistic experiences to the people who live, work and learn in the towns that have supported Pilobolus for 44 years.

According to Lily Binns, co-director of Pilobolus: "This engagement springs from a longstanding and uncommonly close collaboration. The fruits of these two complementary organizations will be evident on stage."

Audience members will see several works of the latest repertory of Pilobolus Dance Theater, the present-day vehicle for over forty years' worth of Pilobolus's most inventive and groundbreaking choreographic work. The company tours extensively in the United States and abroad, splitting time between performing and teaching, and creating new works in the Pilobolus Lab's International Collaborators Project.

JoAnne Torti, Executive Director of ASAP says, "People see a Pilobolus show and are amazed by the young, beautiful bodies and superhuman feats. With the addition of original choreography created in the youth and multigenerational classes that took place throughout the fall, we see the same principles can apply, that ordinary human beings - people just like any of us - can make beautiful, touching, and interesting dance regardless of their history or age or physical ability."

Some of the participants are reconnecting with a childhood love of the arts, some are completely new to dance, and some are deepening practices they have begun in other movement forms like yoga and capoeira. All have been introduced to Pilobolus's stance that anybody can create something and spark life-changing encounters simply by showing up for one another.

Much of the new choreography was generated initially from improvisation. Inside the schools - alternating weekly between the two towns - teaching artists have since December led the students in "Pilobolizing" existing games like freeze tag to result in slapstick elements incorporated into Walklyndon, one of oldest pieces of the Pilobolus repertory, made in 1975.

Backstage during performances, student assistants will work alongside Pilobolus professionals to set lights and prepare other technical supports.

"For the performers, audience members and everyone involved, it's a supremely validating experience," according to Ms Torti.

ASAP is a nonprofit arts organization based in Washington (Conn.) that was established in 1999. Its mission is to foster creative, hands-on learning through the arts, and believes that when we honor children's imagination, invite them to create, encourage them to take risks, and trust their resourcefulness, they will become the empowered and resilient adults the world needs.

ASAP provides over 100 workshops, programs during the school day, summer programs, and events in the visual, literary, performing, and culinary arts for pre-school through adult in more than a dozen towns throughout the state. Last year the organization provided programs for 10,000 students.

Pilobolus Dance Theater is an internationally acclaimed arts organization renowned for its unique, diverse collaborations that break the barriers between creative disciplines. It was founded in 1971 by a group of Dartmouth College students with no training in dance and no interest in playing by the rules of classical dance technique.

The company puts its intense creative energy into action in the communities where it performs, teaching groups of people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities new ways of thinking independently, forming genuine human connection, working collaboratively, and finding beauty in unexpected places.

Pilobolus has created and toured over 120 pieces of repertory and claims over 1 billion viewers in more than 64 countries, more than 100 television appearances, and more than 5,000 performances.

Honors include a Scripps Award in 2000, Dance Magazine Award in 2010, a TED Fellowship, and 2012 Grammy® Award nomination.

Tickets for ASAP Presents Pilobolus are $35 general admission, $25 for students (18 and under) and senior citizens (age 65 and older), $50 reserved seating, and $100 for prime seating (which includes prime reserved seating and a prominent listing in the program).

Groups reserving 15 or more seats in advance will receive one free ticket; send email to tickets@afterschoolartsprogram.org or call 860-868-0740 extension 302 for group details.

General ticket questions can also be sent to

To purchase tickets in advance visit

Pomperaug High School is at 12 Judd Road in Southbury, easily reached from I-84 Exit 16.

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